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Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Yes, I Write YA Contemporary Romance

A little while back, I posted about branding. I mentioned I wrote a YA contemporary romance but that I worried it wouldn't get picked up because I've been branded as a paranormal writer. I was a little crushed because the romance held a special place in my heart. I relived emotions I haven't felt in a long time, and the story I created (while fictional) spoke to the sixteen-year-old inside me.Well, my agent and I decided to put the project on the back burner and focus on my paranormal and fantasy novels. I said I was okay with it. I wasn't. I was crushed. But... my agent, being the awesome woman she is, discovered a new imprint called Swoon Romance. Right now, Swoon is only publishing novellas, so my agent called me and said, "What if you turn your romance into two novellas?" I may have jumped for joy. ;)She sold my novellas to Swoon Romance, and I started transforming one novel into two separate novellas. Only, I couldn't do it without losing the story. So... my two novellas became three, which worked so well. I jumped for joy again. And now Love All, the first book in the Game. Set. Match. Heartbreak series is releasing January 15, 2013. Serving Up Heartbreak (book 2) releases March 12, 2013, and Perfect Match (book 3) releases May 14, 2013. I'm officially a paranormal and contemporary romance author.What's the moral of the story? My agent is awesome. Oh, and you never know what will happen. So write the stories you have to tell.Have you ever strayed from writing the genre you've come to be known for?

That is a fabulous idea! Lauren rocks! I've had this idea for a YA contemporary as well as an MG one, but have held off developing them because of the branding theory. Hmmm... you're definitely making me reconsider.

I did leave in some conflict with my protagonist and her new boss in the beginning. :D That's probably why it keeps wanting to go there. That's what happens when we love reading one genre and want to write another!

I absolutely love the titles of the novellas and the series title. So clever!

I was a fantasy writer until one day I looked down at the WIP I was about 1/2 way through a first draft on and realized it was contemporary. I was shocked, but Save the Lemmings was born. I'm working on a contemp ya romance now. I mean, heck, why not? But fantasy is the bulk of my work; gnomes or super villains or the underworld. I write it all.

I've never really switched genres before-- I'm a pretty big paranormal romance/urban fantasy kind of writer. But, I suppose last year's Nano novel kind of counts as genre jumping. It was a ridiculously weird adventure story filled with unicorns, pirates and mermaids. It was absolutely crazy and unreadable, but a lot of fun to write!

Congrats, Kelly. Three books out of one, love it. Your agent is a genius. I don't know how you do it. I love fantasy YA, so I don't know if I'd ever write contemporary. Happy you can mix and match, Kelly.

Thanks, Ednah. Paranormal is still my favorite. Well, paranormal with some romance thrown in. The straight up romance is a little tough for me because I have to tap into emotions I had as a teenager. Reliving bad breakups is a little heart-wrenching.

Good for you, Kelly. I know branding can be a double-edged sword, it's good for publishers and end-readers, but sometimes creatively stifling to writers, but I applaud your agent for being able to respect your diverse interests creatively, while still doing her part in moving your overall career forward.

It's hard to find people who get the business of writing involved, without being numb to the frankly esoteric passion writers (especially in fiction and NON-Memoir narrative nonfiction) can't help but bring to their work.

I think part of the reason my blog writing has stalled (Besides a trying summer and slowed writing output of non-blog material) is because I too have realized the need to broaden my storytelling horizons. Both for creative and career-oriented reasons.

I'm always going to write animal fantasy (My first love), but I also need to expand my genres, and part of my blogging hiatus is to discover those new directions, and re-imagining my platform.

I think a writer has go where the story takes him or her. I don't pay much attention to genres. If a story comes it comes. As you know I recently dabbled with fantasy aimed an the middle grade market. I didn't start out writing it, but that's what it ended up to be. An industry, music or publishing, likes to label something for marketing purposes or the demographic they market it to. It's easier from them if said writer (artist) fits into one of their buckets. Write what comes to you and see where it goes are my thoughts,

Inspiring. Thank you, Kelly. I know a lot of us YA authors are genre-benders, and it's so good (and comforting!) to know we don't have to be bound to the first genre we write. I hate the idea of publishing under a pen name just because I wanted to write a particular story that spoke to me! Congrats again.

Thanks, Kiersi. I would've used a pen name if I had to, but I'm glad I don't. When I saw my cover with my name, I was so happy because I still wasn't sure at that point if they were going to ask me to use a different name. It was a huge relief.

I really think we do need to branch out intelligently and strategically. If we're known for only one type of novel, what do we do when the market downswings in that genre? We also need to grow and stretch. Hurray for agents who can help us grow as artists, and satisfy the market, in the long run.

About Me

Kelly Hashway fully admits to being one of the most accident-prone people on the planet, but that didn’t stop her from jumping out of an airplane at ten thousand feet one Halloween. Maybe it was growing up reading R.L. Stine’s Fear Street books that instilled a love of all things scary and a desire to live in a world filled with supernatural creatures, but she spends her days writing speculative fiction. Kelly’s also a sucker for first love, which is why she writes romance under the pen name Ashelyn Drake. When she’s not writing, Kelly works as an editor, and also as Mom, which she believes is a job title that deserves to be capitalized.